towne



,An N. ToWNaoF 'eHIcAG0, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent 41v0.`8o,o34, dated .my 14, 1868.

, IMPROVEMENT 1N Loox-NUTS.

tlgetlgthnle :mmh In in thirst Entert @anni mounting part at tige stmt.

To ALLl WHOM IT MAY coNeERNa y i Be it known'that I, yA. NLTOWIE, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and Stateot` Illinois, have `invented new `and useful Improvement vin Corrugated ANuts and Washers, for the more perfect protection to 'the parts to'which they maybe applied; and Il do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of Weisung-,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a. part of this specification, in which-- .i i l i i y Figure 1 is a front elevation of an application of my invention to a bolt and piece of timber.

Figure 2..s a. top or plan' view of my washen-'sh'owingi corrugations, with lugs tut-.ned up vto hold the .stime in the. timber, as shown` 'in iig. 1

Figure 3 is a.' plan view of the corrugated nut. f .Figurlis a front elevation of the applictiouof my invention 'to the helling together oftwo ban-sor plates of iron. Y

Figure 5 is a. plan or top .view of a plate of iron having the oorrugation stamped or iu'ipre'ssed thereon.. Figure 6 is an end view of a section of :iT-rail with the application of my invention te the fish-joint C for connecting rails, sometimes called a splice-joint.

i Similar letters of reference in thesevcra'l figures .indicate corresponding parts in the several applications -indicated of my invention.

The nature of my invention consists in corrugating a. nut and washer,rl`or the purpose of preventing the 4nut from being loosened or turned o' by the jars and eoncussions o'f cars, rolling-stock of railroads, other vehicles, conveyancesf, .or wherever the same Inay oe used,rei,thei by the shrinkage olftimber, or other means, by which nuts 'are or maybe loosened orlost.A A i A In order to accomplish this end, I corr-agate the nut and washer,`and in case there is no'elasticity of the parts', I intervene an elasticwasher, rubber, or leather, or' any other suitable material, for the purpose of allowing the corrugatons'to pass each other `until the parts are firmly united.

' Hcretofore joui-'nuts have been used' for vthis purpose, and are still used, but they-only partially succeed in the object desired--the'security and unity ofthe parts, and retaining the nuts in their places without looseningor. shattering. Besides, double nuts or jam-nuts are bunglesome, lack nish, ,and neatness of construction,` and take time to applfy them. Experience, too,-has shown them to he unsafe, and inadequate for the protection-oi` the parts; and in r'alroadng, serious disasters have followed their becoming loosened, shattering; off, and the bolts lost. Hencethe importance and practical value of means by which it is made impossible for tho nut to yield, loosen, t'urn back, and' shatter off when it is firmly screwed up to its place, which, of course, should be its maximumtit.. i i I It will be readily understood, that, in two parts o f iron beingbrought together without the intervention of wood or some other elastic materiahan elastic washer mst be used at th' head ofthe bolt, or somewhere intervening, to afford the required elasticity to the parts,to allow the projections or corrugations on the iron plate or ber and'nut to lpass each other. .But when wood is .used in connection with the part or parts to be bolted or fastenedtogether,i the natural elasticity will-be found usually suieient withoutthe interventionbf the elastic washer." I' i v t l The application of this invention to the fish-joint," us shown at fig. o of the drawings, is et peculiar and great importanceto protectthe rail from separating, and thus cause disaster to trains passing everit.

" 4A, g. 6, shows the rail; B B, the grooved or recessed plates of Vthe {ish-joint on each side of the rail, and

lengthwise, extending far enough vbeyond the end of each rail to taketwo bolts, one of which is shown in the drawings. k v

C C. represent the bolt passing through the two plates', the r'ail, elasticwasher, corrugated washer, and eerrugated nut.

-D, corrugated nut.

E is the.corrugated washer. F F is the elastic washer. In this figure the rails are brought together cnd "and end,- the recessed plates-are vput in place, .the bolts passed through, theV elastic washer put on tho bolt next to the plate B, and on the nut-side;v the corrugated washer is then put on; then the corrugated nut is put on andiirmly screwed up to its placeto a perfect maximum fit. It will be seen that the rubber firmly holds the corrugated washer to its place, und by which means the nut is firmly held to its place, and no changes of temperature' in tbe'atmosphere, no expansion or' contraction, and no jar or concussion can possiblyloose or remove it.1

Fig. 1. C C'is the bolt, pa ssing through a imber, with corrugated-washer, E, sbowinglugs in vthe timber, I', to prevent. the washer from turning-when the nut is' screwed up. These lugs are' represented'by E',- in the drawings. l-

E" shows common iron washer under the head ofthe bolt.:

The'slugsE may or may not'be used, as they are found necessary cnt usefull E" shows a leather or elastic washer, to gives. slight elasticity where all the parts are metal, as shown 'in fig. 4. i

To enable others skilled in th'e'art'to make or constructrny invention, I isili" say that mynut 'and washer'. may be made' by Vthe use of astamp or die, properly constructedfor- 'thatpurposm with-suitable corrugations;

and the stamping may be done when' vthe nutaud washer nrexnade, or subsequently, -us Inlay be desired, and

this may be done 'upon eithera het or cold surface. The-plate of iron, when no washertis; used, may be stamped in the'same manner, the 'dies -bcing made in size and proportion, form and corrugntion, to suit the application to be made.

VI havetthus endeavoredjto set-forth some of the various ruodcsin `which tbisijwentien Amay beused'prncf' tically and successfully, but there are many'other uses toiwhich it maybe applied with vgreet udventoee and utilitysplice-bzg.r for track-rails of various forms ofstru-oture, bridgetrusses, &'.c..&c.

From Ithe drawings and foregoing descriptionv my `invention willf'be readily anderst'ood, as Well es its var'i. ous modesof application, without further details of the same.

Having thus ieseribed mJy invention, what, 1 claim as new, and desireA to secureby LettersPatent of the UnitedStotes,is-. l

' The corrugatednut D audwasher E, constructed 'as d escribed,' 1vl 1en' used"vin^eombiuoti on'xrith an elastic packing or washer.

yWitness my hand to myspecification. r

' A. N. TOWNE. Witnesses:

Riem). J. Moons, W. F. Wnmsrxouss.' 

